Like this:

I still remember when you were just a few weeks old like it was yesterday. I wanted you so much, we both did. Mommy and Daddy both cried the minute we saw you. So beautiful and strong even then! Men and women alike would come up anywhere we were and tell me and your daddy how beautiful you were! Of course we agreed!

“They grow up too fast“, they said. Of course, I knew this was true but didn’t really KNOW exactly how fast the time would disappear.

And, then, somehow, as if by magic, the time really did disappear.

Gone are the days when

you first crawled,

you first climbed…. (Right out of your baby bed at 6mths, out of the playpen, onto the kitchen table, upthefireplace bricks, upand into theentertainmentcenterallbeforeyoucould walk. ClimbingupGrannyandGrandpa’srefrigerator)

you pulled yourself up,

took your first step

or said your first words;

our first day of ourhome schooljourney

yourfirstadventureawayfrom home

and so many other milestone moments in your life.

I have so many thing i think i want to say. However, at 18, I know you don’t really want to listen to me. But here a few words anyway!

Love yourself and don’t allow anyone to make you feel less of a person through their words or actions. You, and you alone, are in control of your emotions and well-being. By allowing someone else to taint your self-worth, you give them power over you.

Don’t be in a hurry to grow up. You are now officially an adult, that is nothing but a number. Being an adult is more than just a number it means being responsible. Responsible with every part of your life. There is plenty of time to move out and live on your own. Find a job, go to school! What ever you decide.

The next few years should be spent discovering who you are as a person, learning from the mistakes of the adults around you. There are many of us who came before you that have made plenty of mistakes, me included. Don’t make the same ones just because you want to be treated as an adult.

Think for your future not just for the now. The mistakes you make now may haunt you your whole life.

Ask for advice, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Asking for help is NOT a sign of weakness…instead, it shows your maturity that you know the depth of your limitations.

Above all else, remember you are loved. We do not want to see you fail, fall or get hurt. Your family is forever.

Follow your dreams. Never give up! Ever!

I’m filled with such joy, happiness and pride, but it also bittersweet! So I’m also filled with sadness that this journey with my young child has ended, and we’re starting a new one together both now adult.

I love you so much!

Momma

~♥~

PS. If you follow my blog regularly, you know my daughter doesn’t want pictures of her self posted for all to see. Take my word for it, she stunning!